Posted by:
Matt Campbell
at Mon Dec 11 14:01:11 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Matt Campbell ]
Well, after a major screw up, the project is back on track. To make a long story short - the spray foam coated with silicone and peat yielded a completely fake-looking result. Not at all what I had hoped. So, I removed all the foam, threw out the branches that had gotten silicone and peat on them and started from scratch. This time I used cork bark which I had to order back after T-day which meant it took forever for the order to be processed and shipped. Anyway, I also took the time to revise my plan for the bottom of the vivarium as well. I chose instead of a totally aquatic bottom to go with a 50/50 land water setup utilizing a false bottom. I'll still have an over flow into a reservoir underneath but I haven't decided whether the filter will remain in the reservoir or if I'll put it into the actual water feature in the vivarium.
So this pic shows the disastrous results of the foam and peat experiment. Other frog keepers have seemingly had success with this method but I think the large majority use cork bark or coconut fiber mats to line the walls of vivaria.
This shows the false bottom part way through construction. I chose to make it a two-level setup with the forward portion being slightly higher allowing more room for substrate behind.
Since I was using cork bark, I was bound to have spots I couldn't cover with background so I chose to put in green contact paper for a more natural look than the glaring white walls. It has numerous wrinkles on the back but I'm not concerned since 95 percent of the back will be covered with cork bark.
This shows the cork attached to the walls and also shows that the largest portion of the false bottom can be removed if I need to for some reason. I've never liked false bottom setups that would neccessitate breaking down the entire vivarium for any type of cleaning or maintenance.
This shot shows where another piece of cork will go along the edge of the land portion of the false bottom. This will also allow for more depth of substrate behind the piece of cork. There will likely be at least one or two larger live plants potted into this area.
This final shot shows the various bromeliads and tillandsias that I purchased for the project. I also have some assorted small tropical plants for the vivarium as well.
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Matt Campbell
"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." John Muir
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 Snake rack to RETF vivarium update - Matt Campbell, Mon Dec 11 14:01:11 2006
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